At that Betty quickened her pace, and the next moment was at Violet’s dressing-room door, peeping in and asking, “You dar, Miss Gracie?”

“Yes,” Grace answered, turning toward her a face so full of gladness that Betty’s eyes opened wide in astonishment, and stepping in she asked wonderingly, “What—­what de mattah, Miss Gracie? yo’ look like yo’ done gone foun’ a gol’ mine, or jes’ sumfin’ mos’ like dat.”

“Better still, Betty:  I’ve found the Lord Jesus; I love Him and He loves me,” Gracie said, her eyes shining, “and oh, I am so glad, so happy!”

“Whar yo’ fin’ Him, Miss Gracie?” queried Betty in increasing wonder and astonishment, and glancing searchingly round the room.  “Is He hyar?”

“Yes; for He is God and is everywhere.”

“Oh, dat de way He hyar?  Yes, I knows ’bout dat; Miss Elsie tole me lots ob times.  How yo’ know He lub yo’, Miss Gracie?”

“Because He says so, Betty.

“’Jesus loves me; this I know,
For the Bible tell me so.’”

“Yo’s wanted down stairs, Miss Gracie,” said Betty, bethinking herself of her errand.  “Ole Aunt Chloe gwine tell ’bout old times when missus bery little and lib way off down Souf.  Bettah come right ’long; kase Miss Rosie she in pow’ful big hurry fo’ Aunt Chloe begin dat story.”

“Oh yes; I never get tired hearing mammy tell that; Grandma Elsie was such a dear little girl,” Grace said, making haste to obey the summons.

The others had already gathered closely about Aunt Chloe, but the circle promptly widened to receive Grace, and the moment she had taken her seat the story began, opening with the birth of its subject.

There were many little reminiscences of her infancy and early childhood, very interesting to all the listeners.  The narrator dwelt at length upon the evidences of early piety shown in the child’s life, and Aunt Chloe remarked, “Yo’ needn’t be ‘fraid, chillens, ob bein’ too good to lib:  my darlin’ was de bes’ chile eber I see, and yo’ know she has lib to see her chillen and her gran’chillens.”

“I’m not at all afraid of it,” remarked Rosie.  “People who are certainly don’t know or don’t believe what the Bible teaches on that point; for it says, ’My son, forget not My law; but let thine heart keep My commandments; for length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add to thee.’”

“And there’s a promise of long life and prosperity to all who keep the fifth commandment,” said Max.

“‘So far as it shall serve for God’s glory and their own good,’” added Evelyn, softly.

“Dat’s so, chillens,” said Aunt Chloe; “an’ yo’ ole mammy hopes ebery one ob yo’s gwine try it all de days ob yo’ life.”

“Yes, we’re goin’ to, mammy; so now tell us some more,” said Walter, coaxingly; “tell about the time when the poor little girl that’s my mamma now had to go away and leave her pretty home.”

“Yaas, chile, dat wur a sad time,” said the old woman, reflectively; “it mos’ broke de little chile heart to hab to leab dat home whar she been borned, an’ all de darkies dat lub her like dar life.”